We were walking closer to home yesterday – well, it is the Leicestershire and Rutland walking group, after all, however pretty the Peaks are for regular added distractions. Phil led us off from the car park at Anstey as the sun popped back out and refused to behave like it was autumn, and as the suburban start point gave way to rolling countryside as traditional, the one walker who’d thought to come in shorts was the best-equipped of all of us. Warm sun, blue skies and hedges full of berries made the whole thing pretty relaxing and easy on the eye, too, and best of all the pub stop came just in time. As it happens it was one of those pubs where a member of staff decides, after hitting us for quite a few quid for drinks and bowls of chips, to protest about anyone nibbling a sandwich on the side out in the yard – unwise of them, as they may have lost future business there, but it happens very rarely.
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| Climbing to Old John |
On through the woods as the sun got a little lower, and the terrain got steep enough to provide training ground for some visiting walkers preparing for the West Highland Way – a great choice, as long as they are well waterproofed! On top of the hill at Old John, we all laid down on the warm turf at the edge of the old volcano to rest a while, and it was such a perfect afternoon that, just for a couple of minutes, silence fell and we could listen to the birds and the breeze brushing past the basalt. At least twenty winks were snatched by one or two of us in a moment rather rare for such a conversationally-gifted group, but it was time to get down the hill and, of course, engage in mass consumption of ice cream before getting back to the start point. Whichever weather deities were involved in providing such a fine day to walk in, thanks!
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